Concert

The architect Charles Garnier had barely finished work on the Paris Opera, which he personally supervised, when the principality of Monaco commissioned him to build an opera house for Monte Carlo. This second Palais Garnier, smaller than its Parisian counterpart (with only 525 seats), was inaugurated in 1879 by the famous Sarah Bernhardt who came to recite a poem, and high society wasted no time in coming to admire the Mediterranean through the facade's large bay windows.

At first, the symphonic concerts given by the Orchestre National (which has since become the Monte Carlo Philharmonic), most often resounded in the hall, especially when Toscanini, Bruno Walter or Richard Strauss came to conduct. But it was under the impetus of Raoul Gunsbourg, appointed manager in 1893, that the reputation of both the Opera and the Ballet was ensured, thanks to an artistic policy of amazing stead-fastness: Gunsbourg did not leave his position until 1951! After having attracted Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, Monte Carlo later programmed productions created by such talent as that of Stravinsky, Picasso, Nijinsky, and Balanchine. Many lyrical works were also premiered at this time; when browsing through old programmes, one comes across an impressive amount of world premieres, including works by Saint-Saens and Massenet, as well as Puccini's LA RONDINE and Ravel's L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES. The tradition of premiering works has lasted to this day: the Monte Carlo Opera can boast of having premiered no less than 78 operas. The brilliant succès of the Monte Carlo season is, of course, in part due to the guest star performances of the century's most famous singers, from Caruso to Pavarotti, from Adelina Patti to Montserrat Caballé.

Today, the lyrical season, from January to Easter, proposes four different works in the gilded hall, while, since 1984, « Le Printemps des Arts » Festival offers symphonic concerts and recitals.